A Sniper Rifle has been featured in every Grand Theft Auto game since Grand Theft Auto III with the exception of Grand Theft Auto Advance and Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars . It is often required in missions to shoot enemy gang members at a distance, especially when the goal is to protect an ally from far away. At long range, the sniper rifle usually provides a stealth kill, however it is not silenced, and should be fired far away from pedestrians and police. The rifle's magnifying scope is a valuable reconnaissance tool, and is also useful for viewing small game details like magazine covers and in-car objects.

Like in many computer games, the rifle's bullets fly straight to the targeted point (it is a 'hitscan' weapon) - real life variables like distance, wind, or target movement don't affect the bullet, but it is still unknown yet if this applies to GTA V as we did witness a wind speed indicator during the official gameplay video which is probably not there just for aesthetics.

The GTA IV Sniper Rifle is said to be twice as powerful as the Combat Sniper rifle; it is, however, a bolt action rifle, and thus can't fire nearly as fast. It provides a one-headshot kill in single player and multiplayer, unless the target is heavily armored.

The sniper rifle only appears in certain missions of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, where the player has to assemble the rifle using the touch screen. In the DS version, the whole top screen is then used to display the scoped view. In the iOS version, the top screen display moves into the single screen by showing up beside the rifle assembly. This also applies to the PSP version, although there is no touch screen functionality.

GTA San Andreas

Jefferson, Los Santos - On the roof of the County General Hospital. It is only accessible by jetpack, helicopter, Hydra, etc. Bailing out of a plane and parachuting down with low flying skill will most likely result in death.

Vinewood, Los Santos - On the highest floor of a scaffolding at the back side of InterGlobal Studios, immediately next to a car park located within the studios premises; there are signs "INTERGLOBAL TELEVISION" and "STAGE 25" on the building.

GTA Vice City Stories

GTA IV + Episodes from Liberty City

The Sniper Rifle can be purchased from the back-alley gun shops for $6,000 and each additional magazine will cost $800. You cannot purchase the weapon from Little Jacob; however, you can purchase the Combat Sniper from him for less than the standard sniper rifle.

East Hook - Can be found on a gantry crane at the docks where the Platypus is berthed, which is located on Mohanet Ave. Specifically, the gantry crane closest to the bow on the starboard side of the ship. Only found after Luck of the Irish.

Steinway - Can be found atop a ferry terminal-type structure in Gantry Park, located off Dukes Drive. From the leftmost portion of the docks, the rifle is located atop the second structure. Again, only found after Luck of the Irish.

Northwood - Can be found atop a crude oil refining tower at the intersection of Exeter Ave and Grummer Rd, near the water's edge. This is the only sniper you're able to get at the beginning of the game, but it's easy to get Busted or Wasted with a 6-star wanted level.

Trivia

In all GTA 3D Era games (excluding GTA Advance), shooting at the moon with the Sniper Rifle will make it bigger and smaller.

In all the GTA 3D era games, the sniper rifle's cocking animation can either be seen in multiplayer (Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories) or when set on fire (Grand Theft Auto: III, Vice City and San Andreas only).

A possible overlook, when you use the Poor Weapons cheat in GTA IV, instead of recieving this rifle, you instead get the Combat Sniper.

Some games in the GTA III era, setting fire to yourself then using the sniper rifle would allow it to lock on to any opponent and fire without utilizing the scope.

In GTA IV and its episodes, the sniper rifle's bolt is on the right but Niko/Johnny/Luis will pull an invisible bolt on the left.

From San Andreas up to the latest games, shooting the birds flying in the air causes them to disappear.

In GTA: San Andreas, crouching while using the scope in with the sniper rifle allows movement while the scope is zoomed in but standing up will stop movement.

In GTA: San Andreas, using the rifle's scope while crouching will automatically cause CJ to stand up, although he can crouch again while aiming down the scope.

The GTA III rendition has more realistic sound than other games' renditions in the 3D Universe

During the GTA V Official Gameplay Video, at 2:53, we can see an indicator for wind speed on the lower right corner, which means the bullets will no longer take a perfect straight path into the target but will be curved away by the wind. It leads to think about bullets falling down as it will be more logical to have gravity also affect the bullet trajectory rather than the wind only.

In GTA Vice City, it is possible that the rifle is silenced, as it has no echoing noise after firing.